Potato digger



J. L. TWENTYMAN POTATO DIGGER June 21, 1932.

5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 8, 1929 ,1 I J1 MATTORNEY June 21, 1932. .1.L. TWENTYMAN POTATO DIGGER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 8, 1929 @HIIIIfire/ for Y E N R O T T A June 21, 1932. J. L. TWENTYMAN 1,864,382

POTATO DI GGER Filed Feb. 8. 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3' ATTORNEY PatentedJune 21, 1932 nNi TEo STATES JAMES L. TWENTYMAN, OF CORTLAND, NEW YORKPOTATO BIGGER Application filed February 3,1929, Serial No. 338,528.

My invention relates to an improvement in potato diggers.

The difficulty with most machines for digging potatoes is that they arevery heavy to haul while in operation, requiring a tractor in mostinstances, and this is not practicable for many farmers on account ofthe added cost, and the excessive weight of the machine is due in part,if not very-largely to 1 the great amount of unnecessary dirt carried bythe machine during the process of separation of potatoes and soil.

This machine has been designed to overcome that objection. The machineis not only light in structure, but provision is made for disposing ofthe dirt just as soon as possible after it has been plowed up by themachine with the potatoes, and this is accomplished by providing agrating immediately back of the plow, and providing an endless movingrake which co-operates with the plow and grate and has the effect ofstripping the potatoes from the soil and disposing of the soil almostimmediately, so that it is not carried through the machine, adding tothe weight and draft upon the animal hauling the same.

My improved machine will operate equally well on smooth and rough andeven wet soil tatoes and quickly separating them from the soil that isdug up with them by the plow.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation;

Fi 2- is a longitudinal sectional view;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3--3 of Fig. 1, looking toward the left orthe forward end of the machine;

Fig. 4 is a detached view of parts of the rake; and

Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of a portion of the potato-conveyer.

The trough-like body 1 is preferably made of sheet-metal and in anyapproved form, with a plow 2 at the forward end, and immediatelyadjacent to the rear end of the plow is the grate or grating 8 made upof bars running longitudinally from the rear end of the plow a. shortdistance toward the rear,

with efiective results, both in digging the poof the endless of themachine; e V Thefunction of the rake is to loosen the V V and theremainder of the frame has an open bottom.

The rear end ofthe frame iscarried on an axle 4, the ends of which aresupported p in the hubs of the two tractor-wheels 5, one

on either side, upon which the main part of the machine is supported andcarried.

'A chain extending ove'ridlersfG and 7 at the forward endfis in the armof a sprocket-chain, preferably made upof individual rods 8 (see Fig.5), the ends 9 of which are bent and hooked over the next rod, asillustrated in Figs. 2 and 5, and the chain thus formed extends aroundthe I tribution consists' more particularly in a travelling-rake. Thisrake is in the form ofan "f5 endless'conveyer including cross-bars l4and V links-15. These crossbars carry rake-teeth 16, which extend acrossthe width of the machine. The drawings show about eight or nine of theseto each bar, and on alternate "8 0 bars they arestaggered so thatalternate rows of teeth travel forward in one'vertical plane, and theothers in another vertical plane. The bars 14 preferably have notches 17at their ends as a means for entering the notches'18 185 in the disks19. These disks 19 are keyed on shafts 20 and 21, and on the shaft 21sprocketwheels 22 are secured, and sprocket-chains 23 pass around thesprocket-wheels 22, and also .7

around larger sprocket-wheels 24 keyed on the main axle 4, so that therake is driven from the main axle in a counter-clockwise direction asindicatedby the arrow in'Fig. 1. Thus the speed of the endless-rake ismuch greaterthanthe speed of the machine and potato-conveyer at thebottom earth from the potatoes immediately after the dirt and potatoesare" dugfrom the"1 ground, and the rake-teeth 16 pass through the dirtand potatoes in rapid succession as they are dug and forced backwardover the plow With the forward movement of the machine. The dirt thusseparated from the potatoes is sifted out through the grating 8, and thepotatoes are practically .clean by the time thefyreach thefo rward endofthepotatoconveyer, so that the bulk of the weight carried by the machineis disposed of almost immediately upon being dug from :the.

ground. To accomplish this is the main object of my present invention. 7

By combing and re-Vcombing through the mass of dirt and potatoes liftedfrom the soil, the rake-teeth insure a quick and complete separation,and the endless potato-conveyer formingthe bottom of the machinenaturally conducts the potatoes to the rear Where they are discharged onthe ground or in a receptacle if desired, gradually shaking out anyremaining particles of dirt that :may not have passed through thegrating: but these presumably would be such a small percentaqe that itWould be almost negligible since the maior portion of-the senaration andsiftins out occurs as the dirt a d potatoes reach an le ve therear-of-the nlo-vv.

Ord narv means of raising. lowering and aad ustin the pos i n of'the'nlow and other parts is illustrated in the xvavofa hand-lever 25. ad a bar Qtiextendsfrom the lever to an upright 27 on the rear of themachine. Th s lever is .n vota' lv mounted on the draftbar 28. and t elatter is pivoted to the frame 1 o the machine at 29.

Thus I have provided -a 'machineiu which the separation of potatoes and.dirt is practicallv completed immediately upon leaving the shovel orplow, thus almost instantly eliminating excess weight instead ofcarrying this burden of Waste and unnecessary material throughout thelength of the madisnosing of it.

I claim: I

1. Ina potato digger, an endless rake having cross-'bars,said cross-barshaving notches in the opposite ends thereof, rake teethscarried by thecross-bars, links connecting the cross-bars together, and driving disksfor the endless rake and having notches in the peripheries thereofreceiving the notched ends of the moss-bars.

2. In a potato digger, an endless rake having cross-bars, saidcrosssbars having notches in opposite sides thereof at opposite chine.Or any considerable part of it, before ends, rake teeth carried by thecross-bars,

links -oonn ecting the cross-bars. together, and driving disks arrangedat opposite sides and at opposite ends of the endless rake, each of saiddisks having notches formedin the periphery thereof and receiving thenotched ends of the cross-bars.

r .3. Ina potatodigger, an endless rake havdisks havingnotches formedinthe periphery thereof and receiving theuiotche'd ends of the cross-bars,and means for driving said disks. In testimony whereof I afiix mysignature.

JAMES L. 'TWENTYMAN.

